Claims for pay

It is not unusual for an employer–employee dispute to end in claims for pay.

Claims for pay: The period within which action must be brought is short!

If, for some reason, the employer does not pay, you cannot waste time. Just think of the pragmatic reasons (remember, you still need to pay the rent):

Forfeiture periods or time limits are often included in employment contracts and collective wage agreements in Germany. Claims must be filed for an out-of-court resolution or a court proceeding within a certain period of time – only two to three months is not unusual – according to these stipulations. Otherwise, you forfeit your claim for pay. Legislators consider such stipulations as legally valid, even though they shorten the relatively longer legal deadlines for filing/appeal.

Employees whose employers have not worded the contract stipulations transparently will be pleased. These stipulations become invalid and the deadline is not applicable. It happens more often than people would like to think.

Voluntary Christmas bonus?

Employers still often pay Christmas bonuses without having clear provisions regarding these payments in the employment contract. Is the employer obliged to pay a Christmas bonus, or is there no possibility to claim Christmas bonus payouts if the employer discontinues payout after several years? Is the bonus a voluntary payout? Or is it a company practice? Is there a mandatory collective wage agreement underlying the claim for a Christmas bonus?

I would be glad to research whether or not there is a claim for pay.

Bonus – I’m entitled to one, right?

Employees who act in a management capacity are entitled to a bonus when specific targets are met. Many people often believe that: I will only ever receive one if my boss is onboard with the idea, as well. That is not the case, because the Federal Labor Court published a verdict recently that was pro-employee. The court has considerably reduced the requirements for documentation that employees need to produce regarding the amount of the bonus and achieved targets.

Commissions

Employees who work in sales or brokerage are often entitled to commissions. But how does an employee do so when the employer “sets up a roadblock” or make claims that it was actually another employee who closed the deal? I have a number of ideas that may help you out of your situation with these “brokerage traps”.

And I will also determine for you on relatively short notice whether your insurance for legal assistance will cover the fees.

My office is located on the second floor in the street-side building (1. Obergeschoss, Vorderhaus) on Blücherplatz 2. The building is adjacent to the library Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. You will find a Croatian restaurant (Split) on the street level of my building.

You can reach my office by public transit (BVG). The nearest subway stations are Mehringdamm (the U6 and U7 lines) and Hallesches Tor (the U1 and U6 lines).